Dr. Seuss What would we do without him?
By Karen E. DeFrank Library Media Specialist Glassboro, New Jersey 2004
One of the most famous authors of all times is Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss was born in 1904. He died in 1991 when he was 87 years old. If he was still living, this year he would have 107 candles on his birthday cake.
Dr. Seuss s real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. His friends called him Ted, or Mr. Geisel. Seuss was his middle name. The doctor part he made up!
When Ted went to college, he drew cartoons for the school newspaper. He was the class clown, a practical joker, and was voted the least likely to succeed in his class.
After college and travel,ted Geisel went into the advertising business in New York City. Life was tough until he got a job to make ads for Flit, a company that made bug spray.
Dr. Seuss thought of his first idea for a children s book in 1936 while on a vacation cruise. The rhythm of the ship s engine helped him think of the rhyme of his first book. Can you guess which one?
The first book Dr. Seuss wrote was called And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street. Forty three different book companies rejected this book! Finally one of Mr. Geisel s friends who was a book publisher decided to make it a book.
The next books he wrote were The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, The King s Stilts, and Bartholomew and the Oobleck.
One day Dr. Seuss was sitting in his office with the windows open. A breeze lifted a piece of paper with an elephant sketched on it and laid it down on another drawing of a tree. All I had to do was figure out what that elephant was doing in that tree. That story became
In 1941, Dr. Seuss took a break from writing books. He cared about politics and during World War II drew many cartoons for a magazine. He also joined the United States Army and helped to make movies for the soldiers.
Dr. Seuss kept writing. He wrote McElligot s Pool, and Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
In 1950 a man named John Hersey studied how kids learn to read. He wrote a report about what he had learned. It said children were having a hard time learning to read because their books were boring!
One of Dr. Seuss s friends read Mr. Hersey s report. He called Mr. Geisel and told him he should write a funny book with only a few easy words in it, for kids who were learning to read. It took Dr. Seuss 9 months and he used only 220 easy words. Everybody loved it! That book was
A few years later a friend gave him another challenge. Could Dr. Seuss write a book with only 50 different words in it?
So Dr. Seuss wrote another very popular book. Dr. Seuss said, It was the only book I wrote that still makes me laugh. And that one is.
In one survey, kids said this was one of their favorite books. It has sold more copies than any other title - over 6,000,000!!!
Dr. Seuss also wrote this famous book. He was inspired by the zoo that was near his house when he was a boy. He spent lots of time there with his father who was a zookeeper and he loved to listen to the roars and songs of the animals at night.
Dr. Seuss is different from many writers because most of his books are written in rhyme. To make his rhymes, he would often make up new words, like the Sneetches, the Lorax, and Zizzer-zazzer-zuzz.
Dr. Seuss s books were fun to read but they taught kids about life too.
Dr. Seuss helps us care about others. A person s a person, no matter how small! Horton Hears a Who!
Dr. Seuss teaches us to care for ourselves. Come on! Open your mouth and sound off at the sky. Shout loud at the top of your voice, I AM I!!!!! ME! I am I! And I may not know why But I know that I like it. Three cheers!! I AM I!!!
Dr. Seuss teaches us to be true to ourselves. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself Any direction you choose. You re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy Who ll decide where to go.
Dr. Seuss can teach us to be fair and treat people equally. I know up on top you are seeing great sights, But down at the bottom we, too, have rights. And the turtles, of course Yertle the Turtle All the turtles are free As turtles, and maybe, all creatures should be.
Dr. Seuss wrote The Sneetches to address how different groups of people didn t like each other during World War II. I m quite happy to say that the Sneetches got really smart on that day. The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches. And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches.
Dr Seuss books can teach us about diversity. We see them come. We see them go. Some are fast. And some are slow. Not one of them Is like another. Don t ask why. Go ask your mother.
Dr. Seuss wrote books with messages about getting along, and pollution.
Dr. Seuss books teach us about how to help the world. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax And all his friends Can come back. UNLESS someone like you Cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It s not.
This book was made from a movie Dr. Seuss wrote. He loved Hollywood and filmmaking. Many of his books were turned into made- for -TV specials..
All together Dr. Seuss wrote 44 different books. They have been published in 20 different languages, like French, German, Italian, Swedish, Swahili, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. More than 100 million copies have been sold all over the world.
Dr. Seuss was still writing books when he died on Sept. 24, 1991 at the age of 87. His book, Daisy- Head Mayzie, came out 4 years later.
In 1997, schools all over the United States chose March 2, Dr. Seuss s birthday, as a day to celebrate reading. We want people to know that reading is important and lots of fun!
The more that you read, The more things you will know, The more that you learn, The more places you ll go. Dr. Seuss
Sources: Dr. Seuss by Jill C. Wheeler, Abdo & Daughters, 1992 On the Loose With Dr. Seuss by Shirley Cook, Incentive Publications, 1994 The Life of Dr. Seuss NJEA Review, February 1998 Book images from Amazon.com